Sunil Mittal

Mittal was born on October 23, 1957, in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, the second son of local politician Satpaul Mittal, who served as a parliamentarian.⁠[1][2][3][2]

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Panjab University, and while there was a ranked table tennis player.⁠[2][3]

In 1976, Mittal borrowed Rs 20,000 from his father and set up a small unit in Ludhiana making bicycle parts, manufacturing crankshafts for local bicycle makers, the starting point of Bharti Enterprises. Within three years, he added units making yarn and stainless steel sheets for surgical equipment; he often traveled in trucks with his consignments, took trains for longer journeys, and worked 16 to 18 hours a day.⁠[4][3][2][3][3]

In 1980, Mittal sold the bicycle parts and yarn businesses, moved to Mumbai, and traded in imported stainless steel, brass, plastics, and zip fasteners. He then became the first dealer in India for Suzuki of Japan’s portable generators; in 1983, the government granted domestic manufacturing licenses to the Birla and Shriram families, and this business collapsed. He has recalled that Suzuki had at the time offered to make him a dealer for the Maruti 800 car, but he did not ultimately get the dealership.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3]

After the setback, Mittal went abroad looking for opportunities and saw push-button telephones for the first time at a trade fair in Taiwan; he soon signed a contract with a Taiwanese supplier and imported components to assemble in Ludhiana, first under the Mittbrau brand and later as Beetel. In 1985 he founded Bharti Telecom, and he has been its chairman since 1986.⁠[3][3][3][3][2][5]

In late 1991, while on vacation in Goa, Mittal saw a newspaper advertisement about the government’s plans to open mobile telephony to the private sector, and decided on the spot to bid. In 1992, he founded Bharti Cellular, entering the mobile communications industry.⁠[3][3][2]

In 1995, Bharti launched Delhi’s first GSM mobile service under the Airtel brand; Mittal has been chairman of Bharti Airtel since 1995.⁠[4][5]

In 1999, Mittal completed Harvard Business School’s OPM program for business owners (OPM 27). He later said the program helped him sharpen his thinking on building Bharti Airtel; he has served on the HBS Board of Dean’s Advisors since 2010.⁠[6][7][7]

In 2000, Mittal established the Bharti Foundation (later known as the Bharti Airtel Foundation) and serves as its chairman, with a focus on school education, teacher training, and higher education.⁠[2][8]

From 2005 to 2008, Mittal was a member of the GSMA Board; from 2007 to 2008, he was president of the Confederation of Indian Industry.⁠[9][8]

In 2007, the President of India awarded Mittal the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors.⁠[4][2]

In 2008, Mittal received the GSMA Chairman’s Award, and received it again in 2016.⁠[8][10]

On May 27, 2016, Mittal received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor the school bestows on its alumni.⁠[7][7]

On June 16, 2016, the ICC World Council voted in São Paulo, Brazil, to elect Mittal chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, succeeding Terry McGraw; he was the third Indian business leader to hold the post. After stepping down, he became honorary chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce.⁠[11][11][11][11][9]

On October 27, 2016, the GSMA, the industry organization representing mobile operators worldwide, elected Mittal chairman of its board for January 2017 through December 2018; he was the first Indian to hold the post. In February 2019, the GSMA honored him in Barcelona for his two years as chairman; his terms as chairman of the GSMA and of the International Chamber of Commerce overlapped from 2016 to 2018.⁠[12][12][9][1]

Mittal has been chairman of Airtel Africa plc since 2018.⁠[5]

On November 20, 2020, a consortium of the UK government and Bharti Global completed its acquisition of the satellite company OneWeb, which emerged from U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Mittal became executive chairman. He said the world now had the option of low-earth-orbit satellites. He was chairman of OneWeb Holdings Limited until 2023.⁠[13][13][13][5]

On September 28, 2023, Eutelsat and OneWeb completed their combination, and Mittal was appointed Vice-Président (Co-Chair) of the board of Eutelsat Communications. He said that closing the digital divide is a critical mission for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.⁠[1][14]

On February 28, 2024, Bharti Enterprises announced that King Charles III had awarded Mittal an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for advancing UK–India business relations; the UK Foreign Office’s 2024 honorary awards list includes him under Honorary DBE/KBE. At the time of the award, he was the first Indian citizen to receive the honor under King Charles III.⁠[15][15][16][16][15]

On August 12, 2024, Bharti Global announced the acquisition of about 24.5% of the British telecom group BT Group. Mittal said that BT had held a 21% stake and two board seats in Bharti Airtel from 1997 to 2001, and that the investment was a significant milestone in Bharti’s history. As of October 2026, he is a director of BT Group.⁠[17][17][8]

On February 22, 2025, Lindy Cameron, the British High Commissioner to India, held an investiture ceremony at the High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi to present Mittal with the KBE insignia, noting his investments in the UK including BT, Gleneagles, Norlake Hospitality, and OneWeb. Mittal said he regarded the honor as both a privilege and a responsibility.⁠[18][18][18][18][18]

In July 2025, the University of Bath in the UK awarded Mittal an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree.⁠[2]

On March 2, 2026, Mittal received the GSMA Lifetime Achievement Award at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with King Felipe VI of Spain and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in attendance.⁠[10][10]

On October 8, 2026, India’s communications ministry stated that the three satellite communications licensees were at broadly the same regulatory stage and that security assessments of all of them were under way. On the same day, asked at India Mobile Congress in New Delhi about Elon Musk’s claim that Starlink was being blocked, Mittal said, “We are waiting for our own approvals.” His group backs Eutelsat OneWeb, one of the three licensees.⁠[19][19][19][19]

Mittal was a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 2009 to 2021; during India’s G20 presidency in 2023, he chaired the B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration. As of October 2026, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Board of Advisors, and a founding member of the International Telecommunication Union’s AI for Good Global Commission, and is co-chair of the India-UK CEO Forum and the India-Africa Business Council; he previously served on the boards of companies including Unilever, Standard Chartered, and SoftBank Corp.⁠[8][8][8][8][8][8]

Bharti Enterprises: Official website: https://www.bharti.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[8]